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Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science pp 1–9Cite as

Ability to Recognize Individuals

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Synonyms

Individual recognition, Individual discrimination, Face recognition

Definition

The ability to recognize individuals is a highly advantageous skill for social living species. Although not always clear, an important distinction in the literature is that between individual discrimination and individual recognition. Individual discrimination is the ability to differentiate one individual from all the rest, whereas individual recognition is the ability to differentiate each individual from every other individual and is the most precise form of recognition (Beecher 1989). This entry discusses the evidence for the recognition of conspecific individuals in nonhuman animals, specifically through the auditory and visual systems.

Introduction

Studying nonhumans provides important insight into the evolution of human sociocognitive skills, such as individual recognition. As in human societies, most social species live in groups that are structured by kinship, dominance, and reproductive...

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Acknowledgments

I thank Sarah F. Brosnan and Darby Proctor for helpful feedback. CFT was funded by NSF GRFP (DGE-1051030).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology & Language Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Catherine F. Talbot

  2. California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, CA, USA

    Catherine F. Talbot

Authors
  1. Catherine F. Talbot
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Correspondence to Catherine F. Talbot .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland Univ Dept of Psycholgy, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana Weekes-Shackelford

  2. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  3. Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

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Talbot, C.F. (2016). Ability to Recognize Individuals. In: Weekes-Shackelford, V., Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1253-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1253-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

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